romanchurchesfandomcom-20200216-history
Santi Andrea e Bartolomeo
Santi Andrea e Bartolomeo is an 17th century hospital church incorporating older fabric at Via di San Giovanni in Laterano 280/A, which is in the rione Monti. Pictures of the church at Wikimedia Commons are here. There is no English Wikipedia page, but the German page is here. The dedication is to SS Andrew and Bartholomew, Apostles. Do not confuse this church with Santa Maria delle Grazie nel Cimitero in Laterano, which was just to the east, nor with the women's wing of the Ospedale del Salvatore ''which is further east on the piazza and looks like a church. Status The church is not being listed as one by the Diocese, and unofficial sources list it as ''chiusa al culto. Is it deconsecrated? However, the diocesan parish website for San Giovanni in Laterano does list a Cappella Sant'Andrea with an address "Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano 72". Located at this particular address is actually the Delegazione Generale Palestinese. History Monastery The forerunner of this church is thought to have been built in the 7th century on the site of the family home of Pope Honorius I (622-40). In the reign of Pope Adrian I (772-95), it was described as the church of the monasterium Sancti Andreae et Bartholomaei, quod appellatur Honorii Papae. This meant that it was one of the many churches and monasteries that accompanied the Lateran Basilica in the early Middle Ages, and is one of only two (the other being Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano) that have survived. If you are interested in this constellation of churches, Armellini gives an analysis (see links, below). The monastery apparently did not survive into the second millennium, but the church did. Hospital In 1215, a hospital for poor people and pilgrims (males only) was founded near Santi Marcellino e Pietro ''and dedicated to ''San Michele Arcangelo. ''It received support and funding from the Colonna family, and so became important. In 1348 the confraternity that ran it built a new hospital to the east of ''Sant'Andrea, ''with its own church. However, in 1460 it received a large cash donation from the ''condottiere ''Everso II degli Anguillara, who had much on his conscience. This allowed for the building of another wing to the west of the church, and also a thorough restoration or rebuilding of the church itself. The Cosmatesque floor that survives was laid in 1462. The hospital was re-named ''Ospedale del Salvatore, ''a name that it has kept, although it is also called ''Ospedale di San Giovanni in Laterano. Rebuilding The entire complex was reconstructed in 1634 on the orders of Pope Urban VIII, who commissioned the architect Giacomo Mola. Many elements from the old hospital were preserved by Mola, but he provided the monumental new frontage on the basilica's piazza. Two new hospital wings were either side of a bend in the street, with the church on the bend itself. As a result, after the rebuilding was finished the new church was squashed onto a triangular site between the two hospital wings and so has a very odd trapezoidal plan. It was restored under Pope Benedict XIII (1724–1730), when the façade was modified. Closure The location of the church made it inconvenient as a hospital chapel, and so it fell out of regular use in the late 20th century. The hospital's oratory is now at Via Amba Aradam 9. There was a restoration in 1992, so the building should be in good condition for the intermediate future. The last regular liturgical use was apparently the celebration of occasional funeral Masses by Camillians associated with the hospital. This has apparently ceased, and the church is now "dark". Exterior Layout The little church is constrained between two wings of the hospital, and hence has a very odd trapezoidal plan with a short back wall. It is almost triangular. Apart from the façade, the exterior is invisible from the street. The campanile is a bellcote perched on the first storey of the two-storey block to the left, facing the street. It has two round-headed soundholes side by side, under a slightly oversized segmental pediment. Façade The façade was constructed between 1720 and 1730, and was restored in 1992. It is of one storey, and has four gigantic Ionic pilasters with swagged capitals and exaggerated volutes. These support an entablature bearing an inscription identifying the church as belonging to the hospital: Ecclesia-venerabilis archihospitalis SS Salvatoris -ad Sancta Sanctorum. Four posts in the entablature above the pilasters support the triangular pediment, and the frieze inscription runs across these. The tympanum of the pediment contains nothing but a framed triangular panel. The doorway is from the 15th century, and was re-inserted when the façade was rebuilt. It has a plain marble doorcase, and above this is a triangular pediment containing a relief of a bust of Christ in between a pair of pricket candlesticks. On the lintel of the doorcase is an inscription which reads: Si mihi quis tumido credit se corde placere, fallitur. Elatos deprimo, tollo humiles. ''("If somebody believes that he pleases me with a swollen heart, he is mistaken. I push down the elated, I take up the humble.") This is not a Scripture quotation. Above the entrance is a large square window in a Baroque frame. On top of this in turn is a small coat-of-arms in relief, with trailing swags which intrudes into the entablature and breaks its architrave. Two squat little posts supports a separate cornice protecting the coat-of-arms, which has a semi-circular arc over it. Interior Nave The church has a single, unaisled nave. The plan is of a trapezoid forming by cutting a corner off a right-angled triangle, since the left hand wall is (almost) perpendicular to the façade but the right hand one angles inwards so that the back wall is very short. There are no external chapels, but two little side altars instead. In the left hand wall is a ''cantoria ''or a raised balcony. The nave has Corinthian pilasters supporting an internal entablature, above which is the flat ceiling which is painted to look coffered. The floor, in Cosmatesque style, was laid in 1462 and with the main altar is the oldest thing in the church. It was commissioned by Mario Diotaiuti and Giovanni Bonadies when they were the guardians in charge of administration of the confraternity running the hospital. The 17th century rebuilders did well in preserving it. Sanctuary The high altar has a 15th century tabernacle, contemporary with the Cosmatesque floor. It is being venerated by angels in the style of Isaia da Pisa. Flanking the altar are two frescoes which apparently used to be on the façade before the 18th century. They are by Giovanni Battista Ruggieri, and depict St Andrew to the left and St Erasmus on the right. Side altars The right hand altar is dedicated to the Holy Family, and the altarpiece depicting ''The Rest on the Flight to Egypt is by Francesco Coghetti 1865. Above is a framed and repainted fresco fragment in a Byzantine style, which shows the Madonna and Child with Angels. This used to be enshrined in the destroyed nearby church of Santa Maria Imperatrice, where the fresco icon was originally venerated. The icon was transferred to Santa Maria delle Grazie nel Cimitero in Laterano in 1826, and then brought here in 1872. According to legend it is 6th century, and was venerated by Pope St Gregory the Great. The left hand altar has an anonymous 19th century depiction of Our Lady, Health of the Sick (Salus Infirmorum). Access Until recently the church was served by diocesan clergy, but was normally not open. The exceptions were the feast of the two Apostles, and funeral Masses celebrated by Camillians attached to the hospital adjacent. The lack of a listing on the Diocesan website, either independently or on the page for the Lateran parish, indicates that the church is no longer in use. Liturgy The feasts of St Bartholomew, 24 August, and St Andrew, 30 November, were celebrated here as Solemnities. External links (There is no Diocesan web-page.) Italian Wikipedia page Nolli map (look for 12) "Romeartlover" web-page "De Alvariis" gallery on Flickr "Tesoridiroma" web-page Armellini (p. 115) Andrea e Bartolomeo Andrea e Bartolomeo Andrea e Bartolomeo Category:Esquilino Category:17th century Category:Hospital church or chapel